Evaluating Anti-Poverty Programs

The author critically reviews the methods available for the ex-post counterfactual analysis of programs that are assigned exclusively to individuals, households, or locations. The discussion covers both experimental and non-experimental methods (including propensity-score matching, discontinuity des...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author:	Ravallion, Martin
Format:	Policy Research Working Paper
Language:	English
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2012
Subjects:	ACTIVE LABOR MARKET PROGRAMS AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY AID DONORS ANTI-POVERTY ANTIPOVERTY PROGRAMS CASH TRANSFERS CHILD MORTALITY CHILD NUTRITION COMPARISON GROUPS CONSUMPTION EXPENDITURES CONTROL GROUPS COUNTERFACTUAL COUNTERFACTUALS DATA COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH DIFFERENCE ESTIMATORS ECONOMIC GROWTH EGS EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE SCHEME EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMS EVALUATION DESIGN EVALUATION METHODS EVALUATORS EXPERIMENTS FARM ACTIVITIES FARMERS FIELD WORK FINANCIAL SUPPORT FLEXIBILITY FOOD CONSUMPTION GDP HEADCOUNT INDEX HOUSEHOLD INCOME HOUSEHOLD SIZE HOUSEHOLD SURVEY HOUSEHOLD SURVEY DATA IMPACT ASSESSMENT IMPACT EVALUATION IMPACT ON POVERTY IMPACTS ON POVERTY INCIDENCE OF POVERTY INCOME INCOME GAINS INEQUALITY INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS INSTRUMENTAL VARIABLES INSURANCE INTERVENTION INTERVENTIONS INTERVIEWS LABOR MARKET PROGRAMS LABOR MARKETS LANDLESS HOUSEHOLDS LIVING STANDARDS LONGITUDINAL DATA MEASURES OF POVERTY MINIMUM INCOME MODELING MONITORING DATA NONEXPERIMENTAL METHODS NUTRITION NUTRITIONAL STATUS OUTCOME INDICATORS POOR POOR AREAS POOR COUNTRIES POOR FAMILIES POOR INFRASTRUCTURE POOR PEOPLE POVERTY DYNAMICS POVERTY IMPACTS POVERTY INCIDENCE POVERTY LINE POVERTY LINES POVERTY MEASURES PROGRAM COVERAGE PROGRAM EXPANSION PROGRAMS PROJECT MONITORING PUBLIC SPENDING QUANTITATIVE SURVEYS RESEARCH WORKING PAPERS RURAL RURAL INFRASTRUCTURE RURAL ROAD RURAL ROADS SANITATION SELECTION BIAS SIMULATION SIMULATION METHODS SIMULATIONS SOCIAL EXPERIMENTS SOCIAL FUNDS SOCIAL SPENDING SPECIFICATION TESTS SURVEY DATA SURVEY DESIGN TARGETING TRAINING PROGRAMS TREATMENT EFFECTS VALIDITY WAGES WEIGHTING
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2005/06/8962410/evaluating-anti-poverty-programs http://hdl.handle.net/10986/8341

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Summary:	The author critically reviews the methods available for the ex-post counterfactual analysis of programs that are assigned exclusively to individuals, households, or locations. The discussion covers both experimental and non-experimental methods (including propensity-score matching, discontinuity designs, double and triple differences, and instrumental variables). Two main lessons emerge. First, despite the claims of advocates, no single method dominates; rigorous, policy-relevant evaluations should be open-minded about methodology. Second, future efforts to draw more useful lessons from evaluations will call for more policy-relevant measures and deeper explanations of measured impacts than are possible from the classic ("black box") assessment of mean impact.

Evaluating Anti-Poverty Programs

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